Back at UK

Unfortunately, Mark is back at UK. He had a rough past couple of days-feeling very nauseous and weak. Yesterday evening he had a fever and starting having rigors. We called the Transplant Team as this can be a sign of infection or rejection. The Team advised us to come to the ER at UK. We arrived at the ER at around 9:30 last night and we are still here!!! We've been informed that a room on the Transplant wing has been assigned to us. I guess the process of cleaning and preparing a room for a transplant patient is complex. Hopefully, this will be finished soon! It seems so crazy to have a transplant patient wait in such a germy environment!

The blood work completed on Mark last night shows an elevation in his white blood cell count. The physicians are trying to determine the location and cause of infection. The infection could be around the incision site from the hernia repair. This would be the worst case scenario as it may require a surgery to remove the "mesh" used to repair the hernia. The infection could also be from the catheter in Mark's chest used for dialysis. Temporary ports or catheters in the chest for dialysis frequently serve as an infection site for patients who are immunosuppressed. If this is the case, the Team would remove the catheter and replace it in another location. This is also a troublesome scenario as Mark experienced a great deal of discomfort when the catheter was originally placed in his chest. It is my understanding that the infection could also be from another reason (i.e. exposure to bacteria, etc.). This is probably the least likely given Mark's situation, but it is the situation for which we are hoping! As you remember, Mark was hospitalized in late July for an infection. This infection was not due to his catheter and was treated with strong IV antibiotics. He was in the hospital for about 3 days and was released. Hopefully, this will happen again! We will update the blog as we learn more. Please keep praying for Mark!